Dodgers clinch NL West title but know their best is yet to come

CINCINNATI –– When Dave Roberts gathered the Dodgers on Monday night, raising a champagne glass to toast their 14th consecutive season clinching a playoff berth, the manager delivered what has become a familiar message for the two-time defending champions over the last several years.“Baseball is hard,” Roberts said.“Nothing is guaranteed,” he insisted.Then, the veteran skipper acknowledged an undeniable truth about the team’s 2026 performance –– but with a hopeful twist about what it could mean for their chances of completing a World Series three-peat.“The thing for me that I’m really encouraged about with you guys is, we’re not even close to playing the baseball that we’re gonna play,” Roberts said.“And to be where we’re at right now … that says a lot about us.”Another familiar grind of a regular season, that the Dodgers are confident can culminate in a familiar flourish of October glory.“The best,” Roberts said, “has to be yet to come.”Three days later, the Dodgers took another triumphant step toward defending their back-to-back championships, beating the Cincinnati Reds 8-2 at Great American Ball Park on Thursday to clinch their 13th National League West division crown in the last 14 years.Unlike Monday night, when Roberts’ speech was the highlight of their subdued playoff-clinching celebration, the Dodgers let loose in the wake of Thursday’s victory.Sheets of plastic covered the clubhouse walls.

Boxes of sparkling wine sat on the ready in the ballpark tunnel.And, clad in division-title hats and T-shirts, they popped bottles and showered each other in beer to recognize the completion of their main regular-season priority.“It’s a big deal.

It’s not easy,” Roberts said.“I think a lot of people think it’s easy, it’s a rite of passage.

But it’s not easy to win a division when everyone is gunning for you, to keep everyone motivated to play over the course of 162.It’s something we’re all really pro...